July 21 (Tue), Smartphone City Hall Online Seminar to be Held. Theme: "Implementing Facility Reservations and Smart Locks with Official LINE Account, Establishing New Reservation Infrastructure After Public Facility Reservation System Ends," Iruma City, Saitama Prefecture to Present

Bot Express Inc. (Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director: Kazuki Nakajima, hereinafter Bot Express) regularly holds free online seminars "Bot Express Showcase" to share DX cases of national and local governments. We are pleased to announce that the next seminar will be held on Tuesday, July 21.

The theme this time is "Implementing Facility Reservations and Smart Locks with Official LINE Account, Establishing New Reservation Infrastructure After Public Facility Reservation System Ends."

1. Seminar Overview

Iruma City, Saitama Prefecture, is a municipality in western Saitama Prefecture with a population of approximately 140,000. Iruma City opened its official LINE account in May 2020 and linked it with "GovTech Express," an extended service for official LINE accounts, on June 19, 2023.

- Expanding Administrative Services Available via LINE

Iruma City is promoting "Smartphone City Hall" utilizing GovTech Express.

Previously, an environment has been established where residents can apply for tax certificates, apply for after-school childcare facilities, report defects in roads and parks, apply for bulky waste collection, and make various reservations through LINE. They also provide information on congestion status at service counters, offering services available to all residents.

- Building a Facility Reservation System as the Next Step

Amidst these initiatives, the city began constructing a facility reservation system as the next area of application.

Iruma City is developing a new facility reservation infrastructure in anticipation of the service termination of its existing dedicated facility reservation system. The city is progressively promoting the online shift of public facility reservations with the aim of improving citizen convenience and reducing the operational burden on staff.

- Operation Commenced for School Opening Program

Starting September 2025, operations for the school opening program using GovTech Express will begin for two elementary and junior high schools in the city.

An environment is being established where procedures related to facility use can be completed digitally by onlineizing group registration, lottery/first-come-first-served reservation acceptance, usage reports, and group annual renewals.

Furthermore, by integrating with smart locks, the need for manual key handover by administrators is eliminated, leading to more efficient facility management.

- Expansion to District Gymnasiums

Starting June 2026, the scope will expand to reservation services for district gymnasiums within the city.

Users will be able to check availability and apply for reservations from their smartphones, and staff can manage reservation information centrally.

Additionally, in preparation for the replacement of the current public facility reservation system scheduled for October 2026, the city is proceeding with operational design and system construction with the aim of completing the entire process, from group registration and reservations to fee collection, within LINE.

- Utilization as an Integrated Platform for Public Facility Reservations

GovTech Express can centrally manage tasks such as user registration, reservation acceptance, lotteries, and usage reports, while accommodating different reservation rules and operations for each facility.

Iruma City plans to utilize it as a reservation platform that supports sustainable facility operations, starting with the school opening program and reservations for some gymnasiums, while transitioning from existing systems.

On the day of the seminar, Mr. Hatta and Mr. Kaneko from the Digital Administration Promotion Office, Planning Division, Iruma City, Saitama Prefecture, and Ms. Watanabe and Ms. Kato from the Sports Promotion Division will be presenting, discussing the background of the initiative, design concepts, and operational points in the field. Mr. Takebe, Partner Success Manager at Bot Express, will also present and explain facility reservation-related functions implementable in "Smartphone City Hall" with demonstrations.

<Recommended for>

- Those considering updating or replacing their facility reservation system.

- Those who want to move school opening and gymnasium reservation operations online.

- Those who want to expand resident services utilizing LINE.

2. Seminar Details

[Seminar Name] Bot Express Showcase #45

[Date and Time] July 21, 2026 (Tue) 14:00 - 15:00 *Applications accepted until the start of the seminar

[Venue] Online (Viewing URL will be sent after registration)

[Target Audience] Municipal employees

[Program]

Smartphone City Hall National Municipal Case Study (Bot Express, Takebe)

Initiative Introduction (Iruma City)

Q&A

3. How to Apply

Official LINE Account: https://lin.ee/XssrclA (Apply from "Events" in the rich menu)

Web Form:

Email: [email protected] (Please provide municipality name, department name, your name, phone/fax number, and email address)

TEL: 050-1791-9464

FAX: 050-3852-4529 (Please use the FAX transmission sheet)

* FAX transmission sheet https://bot-express.box.com/s/vt6kldlieduv2nfe36r7iahqbej0g5j0

4. Speaker Information

Takuro Hatta, Digital Administration Promotion Office, Planning Division, Iruma City, Saitama Prefecture

Joined Iruma City Hall in 2015. After working in the Election Administration Committee Secretariat and the Digital Administration Promotion Division, he is currently in the Digital Administration Promotion Office, Planning Division. He has been involved since the introduction of "Smartphone City Hall" in 2023, mainly in service development. He focuses on building services that are convenient for both citizens and staff, not just simple onlineization.

Hibiki Kaneko, Digital Administration Promotion Office, Planning Division, Iruma City, Saitama Prefecture

Joined Iruma City Hall in 2017. After working in the Citizen Affairs Division (Resident Records), a two-year secondment to the Digital Agency, and the Digital Administration Promotion Division, he is currently in the Digital Administration Promotion Office, Planning Division. He plays a central role in DX within the city hall, including the introduction of DX SaaS for service counters and BPR. While valuing careful coordination with related departments, he strives for business improvement with a "forward-looking approach" and a sense of speed, especially given the current busy circumstances.

Kohei Watanabe, Sports Promotion Division, Iruma City, Saitama Prefecture

Joined Iruma City Hall in 2023. Belonging to the Sports Promotion Division since his first year. Aims to "build a healthy and vibrant community through sports," primarily responsible for planning and operating sports programs. He has been involved in the school opening program since before its onlineization and is promoting onlineization throughout the city with a focus on improving operational efficiency and user convenience.

Nagomi Kato, Sports Promotion Division, Iruma City, Saitama Prefecture

Joined Iruma City Hall in 2025. In her second year in the Sports Promotion Division, responsible for facility management. Works to ensure citizens can use the city's sports facilities safely and comfortably. Last year, she was involved in the paid use of district sports facilities and the onlineization of reservations.

Hiromi Takebe, Partner Success Manager, Bot Express Inc.

Became a local government employee wanting to be involved in operating systems used by many people. Experienced welfare and tax administration in local government. Decided to change jobs after encountering Bot Express, which works to improve resident life from outside the government. Currently in this position since August 2024. Aims to leverage her experience as a local government employee to provide services that benefit everyone.

5. Four Features of GovTech Express

1. Just answer questions. High resident usage rate.

It's a question-and-answer format. No email address required, making it user-friendly for seniors.

For residents not using LINE, applications can also be made via web form.

2. Fixed monthly fee, developed by municipal employees.

Usage fee is a flat rate of 130,000 yen/month (excluding tax). It's a subscription service where all functions can be used for a uniform price.

It can quickly respond to changes in national trends and implement services like subsidies. It's highly agile and can be implemented when needed without additional costs.

3. Functions created nationwide can be horizontally deployed.

Procedures created by over 350 adopting municipalities nationwide can be horizontally deployed and utilized.

Procedures and reservations can be built simply by conveying requirements to AI. It's also possible to install procedure templates prepared in the management screen.

4. Can be used in conjunction with other Official LINE Account extension tools.

It can be used in conjunction with AI chatbots and multilingual distribution functions while retaining the extension functions of the current Official LINE Account.

A video collection is also available. You can watch videos on the 5 features of GovTech Express, case studies from other municipalities, user experience for residents (e.g., public personal authentication service via My Number Card), the main management screen for staff, and security.

https://bot-express.notion.site/ba1b3407a7c14aae9ea14ab72db3ff4c?source=copy_link

7. System Mechanism

"GovTech Express," a conversational application developed and provided by Bot Express for government use, runs on Salesforce, which is registered in "ISMAP," a system for evaluating and registering cloud services that meet the security requirements of the Japanese government. Even data entered via LINE is stored only within the Salesforce system.

Details: https://note.bot-express.com/n/ne05e2cbc12e9

With the mission "Let's create administrative services that are loved," Bot Express, as a GovTech Company, aims to provide services with high resident usage and satisfaction, and to realize a society that should be, together with partner municipalities that resonate with this vision. Through this seminar, we hope to accelerate DX and GovTech in municipalities across Japan. Let's update administrative services and the lives of residents together. We look forward to your participation.

<Bot Express>

[Company Name] Bot Express Inc.

[Date of Establishment] February 1, 2019

[Capital] 100 million yen

[Address] Kamiyacho Trust Tower 23F, 4-1-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-6923

[Representative] Kazuki Nakajima, Representative Director

[Business Description] Provision of the conversational application for government use "GovTech Express"

[Official Website] https://www.bot-express.com/

[Adopting Municipalities] https://note.bot-express.com/n/naeaa32eb2b4b As of April 2026, over 350 organizations including municipalities, prefectures, and ministries have adopted it. (National Tax Agency, Gunma Prefecture, Shihoro Town Hokkaido, Yuzawa City Akita Prefecture, Shonai Town Yamagata Prefecture, Shibuya Ward, Nerima Ward, Setagaya Ward, Zama City Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanazawa City, Uozu City Toyama Prefecture, Toyota City Aichi Prefecture, Kobe City, Okayama City, Hiroshima City, Kochi City, Koga City Fukuoka Prefecture, Yonabaru Town Okinawa Prefecture, etc.) [Inquiries] Via email ([email protected]) or the inquiry form on the official website.